Pale Male - Definition

Pale Male is a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) beloved by New York City birders and who has attracted widespread notice in the press. He was named by Marie Winn due to his unusual pale white coloring. He was the subject of a episode of the PBS series Nature [1] (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/palemale/). He is approximately thirteen years old and has known to have sired twenty-six chicks with four mates.

His nest and the anchoring spikes at 927 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan were removed by the board of the co-op in December 2004 after the United States Fish and Wildlife Service opined removing it would not violate any laws. The removal was the subject to a series of protests that included Mary Tyler Moore, a resident of the building.

On December 14, 2004, the building, various city agencies and the Audubon Society came to an agreement to replace the spikes and include a new rail to hold the nest together. On the same day, Lincoln Karim, one of the leading protestors, was arrested for allegedly harassing the family of Richard Cohen and Paula Zahn. By December 28, 2004, the scaffolding had been removed and the hawks started bringing twigs to the nest site.

References

• Jennifer 8. Lee. "As Hawks Circle, All Sides Seek Compromise". The New York Times. December 12, 2004.
• Thomas J. Lueck and Jennifer 8. Lee. "No Fighting the Co-op Board, Even With Talons". The New York Times. December 11, 2004.
• Thomas J. Lueck. "New York Celebrities Evicted on Fifth Ave., Feathers and All". The New York Times. December 8, 2004.
• Thomas J. Lueck. "Birds' Nest Will Be Saved, if Co-op Architect Says Yes". The New York Times. December 14, 2004.
• Thomas J. Lueck. "Co-op to Help Hawks Rebuild, but the Street Is Still Restless". The New York Times. December 15, 2004.
• Peri McQuay. A Wing in the Door: Life With A Red-tailed Hawk. New York: Milkweed, 2001. ISBN 1571312390
• Marie Winn. Red-tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in New York. New York: Vintage, 1999. ISBN 0679758461.

External links

• Lincoln Karim's definitive Pale Male site with photos (http://www.palemale.com/)
• Pale Male official movie site (http://www.palemalethemovie.com/)
• Pale Male IMDB entry (http://imdb.com/title/tt0410416/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9cGFsZSBtYWxlfGh0bWw9MXxubT1vbg__;fc=1;ft=9)
• PBS Pale Male Page (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/palemale/)
• Details on his life (http://store1.yimg.com/I/palemale-store_1797_4129225)
• MapQuest Map of 927 Fifth Avenue (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&addtohistory=&formtype=address&searchtype=address&cat=&address=927%205th%20Ave&city=New%20York&state=NY&zipcode=10021%2d2650&searchtab=home)